Google AI Overviews
Your Google Business Profile is optimized. Your reviews are solid. You’re ranking in the Map Pack. And you might still be invisible.
Here’s why: Google’s AI Overviews are creating a new layer of search results that sits above everything you’ve been optimizing for—and it operates by completely different rules.
While many marketers have been speculating about what this means, a team at Local Falcon decided to actually measure it. They just published research analyzing over 60,000 simulated Google searches across more than 4,400 local businesses in 20 countries. It’s the first large-scale study focused entirely on how local businesses appear (or don’t appear) in AI-generated search results.
The findings confirm what many of us have suspected: local search has fundamentally evolved. And the strategies that got you visible in 2023 won’t keep you visible in 2025. This is why we are guiding our clients towards AI Local SEO for Small Business.
What They Tested
The research team ran over 60,000 search simulations for local businesses across 20 countries, using the kinds of natural language queries people actually type when they’re looking for services:
- “Can anyone recommend the best fitness classes for beginners in Lockport, IL that offer flexible schedules?”
- “Can someone suggest popular dessert spots in Philadelphia that are known for their refreshing frozen treats?”
- “Can anyone recommend the best computer repair services in Sparkman, AR that are known for quick turnarounds?”
Notice something? These aren’t the keyword-stuffed queries from the old SEO playbook. They’re conversational, specific, and question-based—exactly how people search when using AI tools or voice assistants.
The 7 Findings That Change Everything for Local Businesses
1. AI Overviews Appear in 40% of Local Business Searches
Nearly half of all tested local searches triggered an AI Overview—that AI-generated content block that appears before the Map Pack, before organic results, before everything.
What this means for your business: If you’re only tracking your Google Business Profile rankings, you’re missing half the picture. You could be dominating the Map Pack but completely absent from the AI layer where nearly half of searchers are now getting their first impression.
2. Proximity Still Matters, But Not How You Think
Businesses near the searcher appeared in AI Overviews 72% of the time, while businesses a few miles away appeared 68.5% of the time—barely a difference.
What this means for your business: Being in the geographic centroid or placing your business near population centers won’t give you the edge it used to. Proximity acts as a basic filter (you need to be in the general area), but it won’t make or break your visibility inside the AI Overview itself.
3. Content Authority Beats Location Proximity
The study found “near zero correlation” between how close a searcher was to your business and whether you appeared in the AI Overview. The researchers concluded that Google’s AI prioritizes content authority over physical distance.
What this means for your business: Your actual content—the information on your website, the way you describe your services, the expertise you demonstrate—now matters more than your street address. You’re competing on authority and relevance, not just proximity.
4. Informational Queries Trigger AI Overviews 3X More Often
Here’s the breakdown of how often different query types triggered AI Overviews:
- Informational queries (how-to, advice-seeking): 58%
- Commercial queries (service + location): 17%
- Navigational queries (specific business names): 10.5%
What this means for your business: If you’re only creating content about your services and locations, you’re invisible in the part of the search journey where AI Overviews dominate. Google appears to be using AI for top-of-funnel queries while keeping traditional search for bottom-funnel “ready to buy” searches.
The businesses winning in AI search are answering questions, solving problems, and providing helpful information—not just listing their services.
5. Adding a City Name Can Actually Hurt Your Chances
Surprisingly, including a city name in queries (like “roof repair in Richmond”) reduced AI Overview appearance by about 11%.
When searches get very specific with city names, Google often defaults back to showing the traditional Map Pack instead of generating AI content. The more specific and transactional the query, the less likely AI jumps in.
What this means for your business: The AI layer is capturing the exploratory, question-based searches. The traditional Map Pack still handles the “I need X service in Y city right now” searches. You need to optimize for both.
6. Service Businesses Dominate AI Overviews
Some industries appeared in AI Overviews far more frequently than others:
- Cleaning services: 65%
- Legal services: 62.1%
- Creative professionals: 61.8%
What this means for your business: If you’re a service-based business (contractor, plumber, HVAC, electrician, lawyer, consultant, etc.), AI Overviews are already reshaping how customers find you. Google appears to have determined that for service businesses, customers need more context and information before choosing—exactly what AI Overviews provide.
7. Single-Location Rank Tracking Is Obsolete
The study makes it clear: where a user searches from massively influences what they see in AI Overviews, just differently than traditional Map rankings. A business might appear in AI Overviews for searchers in one part of town but be invisible to searchers three miles away.
What this means for your business: If you’re checking your rankings from one location (your office, your home), you’re seeing only a fraction of your actual visibility. Understanding your true search footprint now requires looking at multiple locations across your service area.
The Big Picture: Why This Matters Now
This research validates something crucial: traditional local SEO and AI search optimization are two different games with two different rule books.
The strategies that got you visible in the Map Pack—optimizing your Google Business Profile, collecting reviews, building citations, claiming your NAP consistency—are still important. But they won’t automatically make you visible in AI Overviews.
AI search looks at:
- The depth and structure of your website content
- How well you answer common questions in your industry
- Whether your content demonstrates expertise and authority
- How extractable your information is for AI systems
Think of it this way: Traditional local SEO got you in the room. AI optimization gets you the business.
And here’s the opportunity: Most local businesses don’t know this shift is happening. They’re still playing by 2020 rules in a 2025 game.
The businesses that understand this evolution—that optimize for both the traditional Map Pack and the AI layer—will have a massive competitive advantage. Not because they’re outspending competitors, but because they’re operating in a different dimension entirely.
What To Do Next
The good news? You don’t need to abandon everything you’ve built with traditional local SEO. You need to expand it.
That means:
- Creating content that answers the questions your customers ask before they’re ready to buy
- Structuring your website so AI systems can easily extract and cite your information
- Building topical authority in your service category, not just location authority
- Understanding that 40% of searches now have a new visibility layer you need to monitor
A Note From Daniella:
I’ve been doing local SEO since 2011—long enough to have lived through every major search evolution from the Yellow Pages going digital to the mobile revolution to voice search. This AI shift is the biggest one yet, and it’s happening faster than any previous change.
At Muzes AI, we work with service businesses nationwide (and particularly here in Western Washington) to help them navigate this transition. We translate the complex world of AI search optimization into strategies that actually make sense for small business owners who just want more customers.
If you’re wondering whether your business is visible in AI search—or if you’re ready to adapt your strategy for how customers actually find services in 2026—let’s talk. This isn’t about vanity metrics or complicated jargon. It’s about making sure the customers looking for what you do can actually find you.
Ready to see where you stand? Book a free AI visibility assessment and let’s map out what AI search visibility looks like for your business.
